1. Field of the Invention
The claimed invention relates to an improved brush for applying cosmetic products and a storage container therefor, in particular an improved brush for applying mascara to the eyelashes and a storage container to store the improved brush and an amount of mascara for application to the eyelashes.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of brushes to apply mascara to the eyelashes is well known in the prior art. Various types of brushes have been employed to accomplish this task with the most common designs either changing the configuration of the brush shaft or changing the bristle profile to achieve different results.
Some examples of mascara brushes having varying designs are U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,165,755, 4,600,328, 5,860,432, and 5,941,254. U.S. Pat. No. 4,165,755 issued to Cassai discloses an adjustable mascara wand with a straight shaft extension having a cone shaped bristle profile that is pivotally secured to a main shaft to allow the shaft extension to pivot so that the user can adjust the brush for differing applications. This brush has two major problems when applying mascara to the eyelashes. First, the width of the combined bristle rows does not enable the user to cover the entire eyelash width with one stroke, thus making it necessary to perform several strokes. Second, the configuration of the bristle profile makes it necessary for the user to angle the brush in order to reach the interior and exterior portions of the eyelashes.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,600,328 issued to Clements discloses a mascara applicator with two brushes having bristles configured as oppositely oriented cones. The oppositely oriented cones provide different bristle profiles for the right and left eyes, however these brushes still produce the same problems as previously mentioned.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,860,432 issued to Gueret discloses a brush having a straight or curved stem and a bristle profile defined by two peak lines having a specific curvature. The curvature of the bristle profile helps the user to reach the interior and exterior portions of the eyelashes, but the width of the combined bristle rows does not enable the user to cover the entire eyelash width with one stroke, thus making it necessary to perform several stokes. Second, the placement of the bristles on the shaft requires the user to rotate their wrist in order to apply the mascara effectively to the opposite eye thus making it awkward for the user.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,941,254 issued to Heler discloses a mascara brush having a straight shaft and a spiral configuration of bristles that is capable of mounting an eye liner pencil in the handle of the mascara brush. While the spiral configuration provides effective means for transferring the mascara from the bristles to the eyelashes, the user is still faced with the same problems previously mentioned.
While these brushes produce satisfactory results when applying mascara to a person""s eyelashes, there still remains a need for a mascara brush that can be used to apply mascara to the eyelashes of both eyes that cover the entire width of the eyelashes without need to rotate the wrist or angle the brush to reach the interior and exterior regions of the eyelashes.
Accordingly, it is the object of the claimed invention to provide an improved mascara brush and storage container therefor by providing a mascara brush that allows a person to apply mascara to substantially all of the eyelashes of an eye without having to angle the brush to reach the smaller eyelashes at the interior or exterior portion of the eye.
Another objector of the claimed invention is to provide an improved mascara brush and storage container therefor that allows the user to apply mascara to the eye opposite the hand being used to hold the mascara brush without having to rotate the wrist in order to apply mascara.
This is accomplished by providing an improved mascara storage and application device for applying mascara to eyelashes comprising a cylindrical storage container capable of containing an amount of mascara and accepting a mascara brush of sufficient length to simultaneously reach substantially all of the eyelashes of an eye, the cylindrical storage container comprising a substantially flat bottom surface, a top surface having a threaded neck portion with an aperture therethrough, the aperture sized and shaped to wipe excess mascara from a mascara brush when removing the mascara brush from the cylindrical container, waisted exterior side surfaces for gripping the cylindrical storage container, a mascara brush for applying mascara to the eyelashes, the mascara brush comprising, a handle having a first and second end configured for right and left handed users, the second end of the handle having a circular recessed portion with a wall section and a floor section, the wall section having a set of threads extending therefrom being complementary to the threads of the threaded neck portion, a shaft having a first end inserted into the handle and a second end, the shaft extending from the second end of the handle having a first portion adjacent the handle and a second portion juxtaposed the first portion, the length of the first portion and second portion of the shaft having sufficient combined length to simultaneously reach substantially all of the eyelashes of the eye, a first row of bristles connected to the shaft beginning adjacent the handle and extending substantially perpendicular from the shaft in a continuous clockwise spiral of decreasing length about the first portion of the shaft and terminating at the second portion of the shaft, a second row of bristles connected to the shaft beginning at the second end of the shaft and extending substantially perpendicular from the shaft in a continuous clockwise spiral of decreasing length about the second portion of the shaft and terminating at the first portion of the shaft so that a person can apply a substantially even amount of mascara across substantially all of the eyelashes of both eyes using one hand.